


we'll be young forever

by nevernevergirl



Series: woke up in a car [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-26
Updated: 2013-07-26
Packaged: 2017-12-21 09:25:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/898651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevernevergirl/pseuds/nevernevergirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma rolled her eyes, trying not to smile. "We really need to work on your lack of impulse control."</p>
<p>"You like my lack of impulse control," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her in closer, raising his eyebrows suggestively. </p>
<p>Emma and Neal don't exactly take Valentine's Day seriously. Tallahassee flashback missing scene.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we'll be young forever

**Author's Note:**

> So I made up a timeline that probably doesn't even remotely mesh with the show's timeline, just to sort out my personal Emma/Neal headcanon, and that sort of spiraled out of control, and this happened. Mostly pure fluff. Mostly.

_February 5, 2001_

"Neal Cassidy, what the  _hell_  did you put in my car?"

Neal jogged up behind Emma, barely concealing his smug fucking bastard grin. "Oh, hey, look at that. Who's this little guy?"

Emma glared. "There's a giant teddy bear in my backseat." 

"See, that's what I like about you. Unbeatable observational skills, babe."

"It's  _pink._  And it's holding plushie hearts."

"It sings, too," Neal said, reaching out and pressing down on the bear's over-stuffed hand, shooting her a shit-eating grin as they were serenaded by a very tinny, very high pitched You Are My Sunshine.

"Why did you steal a huge, hot pink singing teddy bear, you  _absolute idiot?_ "

"Valentine's Day's in two weeks, I wanted to get a head start," he smirked, leaning against the hood of the bug. Emma glared. Neal cackled. "God, Em, your  _face_."

"Worth the risk of getting busted in a K-Mart?" 

"Absolutely," he grinned, reaching out to grab her hand, tugging her to him. "C'mon. I was careful. And it's funny. You're totally trying not to laugh. It's  _hilarious."_

Emma rolled her eyes, trying not to smile. "We really need to work on your lack of impulse control."

"You like my lack of impulse control," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her in closer, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Emma gave him an unimpressed look for one long second before giving in, laughing high and loud. She leaned into him, burying her face against his shoulder. 

"That thing is hideous," she mumbled against his neck, smiling fondly anyway.

"We're so keeping it."

"Fine, but it's sleeping with you on the floor."

Neal grinned, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Deal."

***

_February 7th, 2001_

Emma settled into the passenger's seat once they were sure they were in the clear, setting her bag on her lap to sort through their haul. She separated out all the non-food essentials, holding them out in a plastic bag to Neal. 

"Hey, babe, you mind putting all this in the trunk?"

"No problem," he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek quickly as he took the bag, getting up to do so.

Emma waited, smiling to herself. "One, two..."

_"Fuck!"_

Emma laughed loudly, scrambling out of the car just in time to see Neal batting away the barrage of red and pink balloons floating out of the trunk. She pumped a triumphant fist in the air, laughing harder as he sputtered.

"You were right, the face is  _so_  worth it."

Neal gave her a Look. "This means war, Swan," he promised, waggling a finger at her. Emma bit her lip, nodding as seriously as she could at a man valiantly fighting to untangle himself from balloon strings.

"I was just trying to get a head start on Valentine's Day," she said, mock innocently, finally taking pity on him and walking over to help free him. 

"How'd you even pull this off?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "I'm kind of impressed."

"Went to Party City while you were casing Kroger," she shrugged. "Grabbed a pack of balloons, told the guy working I'd bought them last week for my niece's birthday party, got him to do the helium for me."

"He didn't ask for a receipt?"

"He was a 16 year old who's never seen cleavage before," she rolled her eyes. Neal made a face; Emma laughed, wrapping her arms around her neck. "C'mere, caveman. I got you  _good_."

He rolled his eyes, grinning widely anyway. "Yeah, yeah."

***

_February 10th, 2001_

Emma woke up to a soft sprinkling of cheap fabric rose petals across the backseat and Neal's smug grin in front of her face. 

"G'morning, m'lady," he laughed, doing the best exaggerated bow he could while crouched on the floor of the Bug.

Emma groaned, grabbing a fist full of petals and tossing them petulantly in his face.

***

_February 12, 2001_

"Since when do you care about basketball?" Neal mumbled as Emma took him by the hand, dragging him up the bleachers as she scoped out seats.

"Since it's snowing outside and we live in a car with a heater that's unreliable at best?" she said, raising her eyebrows. "And since some _one_  got us kicked out of Target for loitering earlier... we needed somewhere warm, right?"

"Hey, I didn't even  _do_ anything, that Bop-It was broken before I touched it."

Emma rolled her eyes, tugging him over to a couple of empty spots. "Just sit down, shut up, and pretend you're taking me on a date," she mumbled, pulling him down with her. She smirked and trailed her hand up his thigh, raising her eyebrows. He grinned, leaning in and kissing her.

"Mm, a date," he echoed, pulling her closer. Emma parted her lips, letting him deepen the kiss as she closed her eyes, wrapping her fingers in his hair. 

Then the cheering started. With cat-calling. Emma smirked against his lips laughing a little. Neal pulled back just slightly, a confused look on his face.

"Smile, babe," Emma grinned, nodding her head towards the giant screen on the arena wall. "You're on kiss cam."

Neal sighed, shaking his head. "I walked into a Valentine's trap."

"You did," she smirked. "I win, right?"

"Nah," he shook his head. Emma frowned, her forehead wrinkling. "Maybe if you hadn't been so damn  _obvious._ Really, Em, we have to sneak into a basketball game for the  _heat_?"

"It was a good plan!"

"Maybe," he shrugged. "Mine's better." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a plastic vending machine ring. Emma's face turned bright red as the crowd's cheers grew louder. 

"I should fake reject your fake proposal for hijacking my prank," she muttered, grumpily.

"You can even slap me if you want," he offered, grinning. 

She bit her lip, thinking for a split second, placing her hands on either side of his face, pulling him to her and kissing him hard.

***

_February 14, 2001_

The inside of the car was covered in streamers.

And confetti. 

And little heart shaped window decals. 

"I think we should call a truce," Neal said, playing with Emma's hair absently. She tilted her head back to look at him from her spot in between his legs, leaning against his chest as they stretched out the best they could in the backseat of the car.

"I think you should admit you cheated by hijacking my prank," she raised her eyebrows, turning back to the box of chocolates Neal had proudly presented to her that morning.

"You forgot my ring in the motel," he whined. "I paid 25 cents for that, you know."  

Emma rolled her eyes, picking up a candy and stuffing it in his mouth. "Shut up and eat, it's double chocolate."

He grinned, giving her a thumbs up. She laughed, leaning back against him and smiling a little.

They sat in a content silence for a long moment, Neal pressing the occasional kiss to the top of Emma's head, Emma lacing their fingers together loosely.

"I don't even know what all this crap is supposed to mean," Neal said, quietly. "All the pink and the candy and the hearts. If we're supposed to think this is love, love's sort of bullshit, you know? I'm not an expert, or anything. But feels like it should be more than that."

Emma took a deep breath, nodding slowly.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Yeah, you're probably right."

She sat up, shifting in his lap to face him, legs straddling his hips. She leaned in, kissing him softly. He pressed his forehead against hers, settling his hands on her hips. 

"I'm having a nice day, though," he said, quietly, locking eyes with her. She nodded again, lifting her shirt up slowly.

"Yeah," she murmured, smiling as he ran his hands up her side, carefully unhooking her bra. "Me too."

***

_October 14, 2001_

Her whole body aches like a motherfucker, she's never been this exhausted in her entire life, and she can hear the baby crying.

There's not a single thing about this that doesn't suck, she thinks, squeezing her eyes shut and fisting her hands into the sheets, just to have something to hold on to. 

She's asked if she would like to hold the baby. No, she would not. 

The nurse insists. She's still shaking her head when he's placed in her arms.

He's so little. She doesn't look at him too carefully, doesn't want to risk picking apart his features to find herself in them. 

He’s so _small._ It’s not fair that something so small has to live in a world that sucks so much. She wants to apologize to him, but she’s too tired.

“Okay, I’m done, please take him,” she mumbles, closing her eyes again, tightly, as someone lifts the baby from her arms. She cries for the first time since last April, since that first night she was alone again, and she thinks _if I’m supposed to think this is love, love’s sort of bullshit_.


End file.
